Stephanie Stuckey to Share ‘The Sweet Comeback’ on September 18 As MGA’s Jennings Family Lecture Series Speaker
Author: Sheron Smith
Posted: Thursday, August 28, 2025 12:00 AM
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In the News | Students | Events- Public | Pressroom | Faculty/Staff
Macon, GA
Stephanie Stuckey attending a recent "Stuckey's Day" at Stuckey Field on MGA's Cochran Campus. Image: Jason Vorhees
For many Americans who grew up in the mid-20th century, Stuckey’s teal-tile-roofed roadside stores were sort of the Buc-ee’s of their time, full of quirky souvenirs, snacks (the company’s branded pecan log rolls being especially popular), and a sense of adventure.
Splashed across thousands of colorful billboards along the highways, the stores promised to be fun pit stops for families confined to their cars as they headed to the beach, Disney World, or other vacation spots.
By the early 1980s, however, in part due to societal shifts in traveling habits, the iconic American road trip staple had dwindled from hundreds of bustling stores to just a few. The Stuckey family sold the business, later re-acquired it, and in 2019 decided again to sell what was left.
That’s when Stephanie Stuckey, granddaughter of company founder W.S. Stuckey Sr., stepped in. A lawyer who specialized in environmental issues and a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, Stuckey and some partners purchased the business that bears her name.
She became CEO, accelerated the company’s rebuilding plan, and published a book, UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon. In recent years, both The New York Times and The Washington Post have featured Stuckey, highlighting her efforts to revive the family brand.
Stuckey will share her story on Thursday, September 18, during 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø’s (MGA’s) second annual Jennings Family Distinguished Lecture Series. Her talk, titled The Sweet Comeback: Reviving Stuckey’s Through Entrepreneurial Grit, begins at 7 p.m. in the Hatcher Conference Center on the Macon Campus. A reception precedes the lecture at 6 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. Reservations encouraged:
"The Jennings Family Lecture Series is one of our signature opportunities to bring distinguished leaders to the University whose stories inspire our students, faculty, staff, and community," said Dr. Rod McRae, MGA’s vice provost for Education Outreach who chairs the annual event’s planning committee.
"Stephanie Stuckey’s family has deep roots in the Middle Georgia region, and her remarkable journey of reviving a beloved brand makes her a great choice of speaker to highlight a unique entrepreneurial vision."
Stuckey’s grandfather founded the original company in Eastman in 1937. At the company's peak, it operated 368 stores in more than 30 states.
The Stuckey family also has a small but pivotal connection to MGA. In the late 1970s, the family donated $10,000 to what was then Middle Georgia College in Cochran to fund the installation of light poles at the baseball field so the team could play night games. The field has been known as Stuckey Field ever since.
For several seasons, the Knights baseball team honored that legacy by designating a game as “Stuckey’s Day.” Stephanie Stuckey attended some of these events, tossing the honorary first pitch and giving away Stuckey’s candy products and merchandise to fans in the stands.
Since buying the company in 2019, Stuckey has powered her brand revival not by opening new retail locations, but by focusing on sales of pecan log rolls, other snacks, and some of the offbeat merch that drew vacationers to the original stores. The company acquired a candy manufacturing facility in Wrens, Ga., to produce its signature products and sell them to thousands of retailers nationwide, according to a Q&A with Stuckey posted on the Georgia Department of Agriculture website.
As part of a marketing strategy, Stuckey has built a large social media following by chronicling her road trips to quirky roadside destinations around the country, leveraging American travel nostalgia to promote her company’s products.
"Can I single-handedly revive the road trip? I can’t," Stuckey told The New York Times. "But can I put out stories that resonate with people on a personal level, then encourage people to share their road trips? I think we can build a bit of a movement."